Rise of the Dragon Master
by Ineedmoretime
Summary: Hiccup is weak, but when he gains a book that can help him, his life goes in a completely different direction. Hiccup is a bada** in this story. Fair warnings, there will be fighting, and some blood. Toothless is female and this story will be continued in a sequel.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. I am starting this fanfiction for those who like a badass Hiccup. It will probably have a sequel. I don't know yet. Anyway, read and review.**

Hiccup watched from the window as the Vikings began to clean up after a raid. He was ten and due to his short stature, could only barely see out the window. He watched as burly vikings hefted heavy pieces of wood and stone away from the wreckages of the destroyed homes. Winter was coming and the dragons kept taking more and more food. Hiccup sighed and watched as his father directed the others and helped where he could. Hiccup wished that he could help, but it wasn't going to happen. He was smaller than any of the others his age and though he was very intelligent, he was still physically weaker than any of the others. Even Gothi, who was getting on in age, was able to help by healing and curing the sick.

"Hey runt!" a voice called before smacking Hiccup in the back of the head. Hiccup turned to see his cousin Snotlout with an ugly sneer on his face. "What you looking at?"

"Nothing," answered Hiccup.

"Didn't look like nothing," Snotlout replied. "Here, let me help you." Snotlout quickly lifted Hiccup and dangled him out of the open window. "There! Now you can see better."

"Snotlout," Hiccup begged. "Please don't do this. Let me back in." Snotlout pretended to consider and waited. A howl cut through the air and Snotlout turned back.

"Fine," Snotlout said. "I'll let you go."

"No wait!" Hiccup said before he was dropped. He fell a good ten feet and into a wheelbarrow full of hay. As he flailed for a few seconds, he heard laughter. He emerged to see the laughing faces of the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They were commonly Snotlout's lackeys, and always wanted in when it was time to pick on Hiccup. Hiccup's eyes brimmed with tears and quickly he pulled himself out and ran for the only haven he knew.

He sprinted into the forge and slammed the door. He sat down and tried not to cry, but a few tears slipped out. "Hey laddie," a man with a long mustache and a missing leg and arm asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Gobber," Hiccup replied quickly while wiping his eyes.

"No, something's definitely troubling you lad," Gobber countered. "I'm here for you, but I can only help if you let me."

"It's just the other kids," Hiccup rationalised. "I'm fine."

Gobber looked at him, but decided not to push it. "Fine laddie, but remember, I'm always going to be here for you."

"Thanks Gobber," Hiccup said with a small smile. He stood up and began to watch Gobber as he worked.

"You know," Gobber began. "If you wanted, you could be my apprentice." He continued working on a small axe. "I'll need help sooner or later, and I would prefer someone who has at least a little bit of sense to be my apprentice."

"Really?" Hiccup asked. He was feeling much better now, but was also very tentative. "You want me to be your apprentice?"

"Well I certainly don't want either of the twins!" Gobber exclaimed. "I'd lose what hair I have left!" He laughed and Hiccup soon joined in.

"I'd like that," Hiccup answered.

"Good!" Gobber exclaimed. "Here, take this axe down to the Hofferson's home. It's for their girl Astrid. This here is your first task."

"A-a-astrid?" Hiccup asked, his face now pale.

"Yeah, Astrid," Gobber answered. "Now get to it!" Gobber gave a smirk. "You'll need to talk to her sooner or later if you're going to work in the forge."

Hiccup took a deep breath and carefully carried the carefully crafted axe. He struggled under the weight, but he continued. Finally he reached the door of the Hofferson household. He knocked and waited. As the door opened, he saw the kind face a woman that he assumed to be Astrid's mother. "I was told by Gobber to bring this axe," Hiccup mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that," the woman said. "Is that Astrid's axe?" Hiccup nodded. "Why thank you. Astrid has been waiting for this. Tell Gobber thank you for me." She turned around and walked back inside and closed the door. Hiccup let out a breath that he hadn't realised he was holding. He quickly ran all the way back to the forge and let out a small chuckle.

"Well Lad," Gobber asked. "How did it go?"

"Good!" Hiccup exclaimed. "I was really worried, but nothing bad happened."

"Well then!" Gobber chuckled. "How about we begin teaching you then. I'll tell your father that you'll be my apprentice, and we'll call it good!"

* * *

Hiccup strolled down to the docks. Traders had come in a large group for once and the docks were completely filled with various boats. Hiccup had saved up money for a while from doing extra chores. Well the chores that people would trust him with. Hiccup watched in awe as the many vendors each pulled out their products. Finally at the back, Hiccup saw a stand that was filled with books. Many kinds of books and scrolls filled the many shelves. Hiccup walked up to the vendor and tried to see over the counter. Finding his view blocked, Hiccup quickly pulled over an empty crate to stand on. Hiccup looked in awe and saw a short gnarled old man carefully organising the books.

"Well, who is this?" The man asked with a tired voice. "Not many people come to purchase my goods." He stretched and yawned. "Probably for the best as this is my last voyage. Well, what do you want?"

"Um, what books do you have?" Hiccup asked quietly.

"Well," the man began. "I have many books. Some are full of stories of magic, others explain the world as we know it."

Hiccup looked around and saw a few that caught his eye. "What is that one?" Hiccup asked, pointing to a light brown book that had a catapult diagram on the cover.

"That one?" The man looked surprised. "That's a book on engineering and the creation of machines. Rather expensive."

Hiccup looked some more. "And that one?" He asked. He was pointing at a deep green book that had a diagram of a person.

"That one's also expensive. It's a book on the human body, filled with healing methods and various fighting styles and exercises," the vendor explained.

Hiccup looked again and saw a thick, deep purple book. It was easily four inches thick, and had some gold embossing on the cover. It seemed to stand out among the rest of the books. "What about that one?"

"That one?" the vendor asked. "I don't know. I can't open it. It's almost a bad luck charm for me. I haven't been able to sell a book since I picked it up."

"How much for the three?" Hiccup asked.

"If you're going to take that one, with the other two, then I'd take a few pieces of silver for them. Honestly. I'd give you that one for free," the vendor said.

Hiccup quickly dug in his pocket for his money and pulled out a handful of silver coins. The vendor immediately had his attention on him. "Is this enough?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure," the Vendor conceded. He handed the three books to Hiccup and Hiccup stumbled under the weight. While the two more expensive books were only about two inches thick each and were only about a foot long and maybe a hands width in width, the one book that was almost free was easily a foot and a half long and eight inches wide with four inches in thickness. Hiccup struggled under the weight and carefully began the long walk back to his house.

As he walked he saw some other villagers purchasing leather or wood that was from other countries. Hiccup continued walking even though others looked at him weird. Then again, the stack of books was rather large for a small kid like him. Suddenly he tripped and dropped the books. He heard laughter ring out and he turned to see Snotlout.

"Hello useless!" Snotlout called. "Going to do some heavy reading? Maybe you shouldn't pick up books that weigh more than you do!" He continued laughing as Hiccup picked up his books and began walking again. No one would care about Snotlout's bullying, and Hiccup couldn't stop him. Hiccup didn't stop walking until he had gotten to his home. He carefully placed the books in his room and sat down on his chair that was much too big.

"Why wasn't the vendor able to open this book?" Wondered Hiccup. He moved the other books to the side and pulled the gargantuan book towards him. He looked at the cover. The gold embossing formed several figures. Some he recognised like a dragon, while others, like a beast with six arms, were unfamiliar. He looked at the pages and saw six tabs. He carefully lifted the cover. It turned easily. Hiccup flipped the cover a few times.

"I thought he said he couldn't open it," Hiccup muttered. He began to read.

 _Congratulations reader. If you were able to open this book, then you are a possible candidate for learning "Magic". Although that is not what it actually is, it's what most call it. In the learning of this, you must have the aptitude and ability for it. This requires mental and physical strength as using "Magic" takes quite the toll on the body. This book is divided into six sections and each will only be able to be opened when you have gained sufficient strength to learn them. Each section is one "Order of Magic". Each of these is divided into circles. The sections are; Runes, Relics and Talismans, Natural Magic, Arcane or High Magic, and Bonds/Contracts. The first one is Runes and is the most basic form of magic. However, before learning Runes, you must learn more of the basics of this art. The following pages in this section will prepare you for the power that you attempt to use._

"What?" Hiccup asked himself. The book was only able to be opened by certain people? That was… different. He turned the page and saw only a blank page. He searched the page and saw nothing. He turned to the next page.

 _As you saw, the previous page was blank. This is because it is a test page. To determine if you are physically and mentally capable of learning the next pages. To determine what sections you can study, place your right hand on the blank pages and wait for a few seconds. Then the pages will fill with text that explains what you can learn._

Hiccup turned back to the blank page and placed his hand on the page. He waited for a few seconds, then a sharp pain, almost like getting stuck with a needle, pierced his hand. Hiccup gritted his teeth and pulled his hand away. He looked at his hand, but no injury was present. He turned back to the book and froze. Writing was emerging on the pages.

 _Name: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third_

 _Mental strength: Above average_

 _Physical strength: Weak_

 _Characteristics: Left hand dominant, four feet tall exactly, weighs fifty five pounds._

 _Recommended order of magic: None._

 _Possible orders of magic to learn: None_

 _Verdict: While your mental strength is high enough, your body is incapable of taking the toll of spellwork. Either work to strengthen your body, or wait for a few more years so that you may use this book._

"Damn," Hiccup cursed. He quickly read through the next few pages, which explained the test and how the book was now connected to him and so no other could use it until he died. Hiccup, now frustrated beyond belief, closed the book and turned towards the other two books he had. He opened the green book and began to read. Inside were diagrams on how the body worked, how to help heal and cure sickness, and various ways of training the body to take more than thought humanly possible. Hiccup read through the whole book that night.

* * *

Hiccup ran through the forest, leaping over fallen logs, and dodging trees. He had been working on getting stronger for a few months, and he was already gaining some lean muscles. The work in the forge had helped too. By working with the heavy weapons, he had gained some muscle in his arms as well. However, he also had to act much weaker than normal. He wanted people to like him for who he was, not just because he conformed to their standards. Hiccup skidded down a steep hill and continued running. He jumped off a rock and began to leap onto strough boughs, using them to continue his run through the trees. Finally he leaped out and grabbed the rope that he had hung their before. Using it to swing out, he let it go positioning him directly above a hollowed trunk that had been worn smooth. Sliding through the long trunk, Hiccup laughed. If anyone saw him, they would have been surprised. Sliding out of the trunk, Hiccup stopped. He simply watched as the sea glistened in the sunrise. Hiccup smiled. He loved to see the sunrise. Especially when there weren't any dragons. Hiccup quickly turned back and ran back to the village.

An axe embedded itself inches in front of his nose without warning and Hiccup smashed into it. Hiccup collapsed, cradling his broken nose. He carefully straightened it and checked for blood. Thankfully, it wasn't bleeding, but having to straighten his nose wasn't pleasant.

"You okay?" a voice asked. Hiccup turned to see Astrid, completely ready for the day and busy pulling her axe out of the tree. Hiccup immediately knew that he was screwed. He had been running at full speed. If anyone began to question his "Uselessness", then his secret would be out.

"Yeah," Hiccup grumbled. "Just perfect. Just ran into your damn axe. You could have killed me."

"Well," Astrid said, a bit taken back. "I didn't, and besides, why are you out here?"

"Oh, just wandering," Hiccup said with as much of a straight face he could muster.

"At full sprint?" Astrid asked with a smirk. "Sure you were."

"Yes," Hiccup drawled. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he continued as he began to walk back towards the village. Even if she didn't believe him, he was still "Useless" to anyone else. Who would believe her?

Hiccup walked into the forge and walked into the back room. Designs for weapons littered the desk and part of the floor. He had designed catapults for the defences and with Gobber's help, and everyone else's, installed them around the island. He picked up his favorite design and looked at it. He couldn't use conventional weapons and so had turned to inventing his own. The design was like a bow, but on a much larger scale. The bow was also turned sideways and had a mechanism to pull back the shaft. The projectile that would work with this machine would have to be at least four feet long. They would be absolutely destructive. Any dragon that was even glanced by one of these would be down and injured. A direct hit would kill. Hiccup had tried to build one on a smaller scale, but the wood that they had readily available wasn't suitable for this project. It was much too stiff and wouldn't bend like a bow.

"Hey Useless!" Snotlout called. "Get out here!" Hiccup grimaced and grudgingly walked outside. "We're going to play a game!" Snotlout said with a nasty smirk. Hiccup froze and stared. "It's hide and seek." His smirk got even meaner if that was possible. "You know the rules."

Hiccup turned and ran. He just needed to be hidden for an hour. If he was found, then he'd end up with at least a few bruises if not more. He had about thirty seconds to hide. If Snotlout can count that high. If the twins got involved, then he was dead. They knew every hiding spot ever known.

"Hey twerp!" Ruffnut called out. "You've got about ten seconds before Snotlout gives up on counting. Better start running. Not that it'll do you any good."

* * *

"Where is he?" Snotlout asked. "I thought you knew every hiding spot!" He yelled at Tuffnut.

"Just because I know where they are doesn't mean I'm going to tell you. I need some places to hide where you won't be able to rat me out." Tuffnut said in a rare burst of reason. "And even if he manages to be in one of those, he'd never tell on us because he knows what would happen," Tuffnut continued with a nasty smirk.

Unbeknownst to them, Hiccup was directly above them, about forty feet up, and on a branch that barely was holding his weight. He looked down at the two and saw Ruffnut walk up. He carefully let himself breathe hoping not to fall.

"Hey dimwit," Ruffnut said to her brother.

"Bride of Grendel," Tuffnut answered.

"Shut up both of you!" Snotlout hissed. "Ruff, did you find him?"

"Nope!" Ruffnut said completely straight faced. "How long has it been?"

"Almost an hour," Tuffnut answered. "He might actually win this one."

"Then we'll change the time to two hours if he wins," Snotlout said.

"Isn't that cheating?" Tuffnut asked.

"No, it's just changing the rules," Snotlout replied.

Tuffnut looked confused. But he didn't argue. Hiccup knew he was in a losing battle. If he won, then he'd never be able to get out of a beating. He thought hard. Then he did the only thing he could think of. He let go. Screaming, he fell from the branch and hit a few more branches on the way down before hitting the ground. He struggled for breath while the others looked on. Finally catching his breath, he shakily stood up.

"Well Useless," Snotlout said with his usual smirk, though it looked forced. "How was the fall?" He gave a nod to Tuff. Hiccup felt Tuff hold his arms as he struggled feebly. "Well, you already got a beating from the tree, so I'll make this punishment short." Snotlout punch Hiccup hard in the gut and Hiccup got the breath knocked out of him again. Tuffnut let him go and Hiccup crumpled to the floor. The others walked away to leave Hiccup in the woods.

"Damn you," Hiccup spat after a few minutes. "I'll find a way to make you quit. I'll make sure that I won't be hurt by the likes of you any more than I have to."

 **A.N. Okay, so Hiccup's a little vindictive, but hey, he needs some kind of drive to help him out. Sorry if you think that's a little harsh, but I think that if Hiccup's gonna be a badass, he needs some drive. Anyway, thanks for the reading, please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Hey all, so if you don't like where this is going, don't read. Hiccup is a little vindictive and so he will be a bit more violent. Also, don't ask why, but I am making things this way for a reason. Even though some don't really think that Hiccup was really bullied, it is a crucial turning point for him. Please read and review.**

Hiccup carefully molded a pattern into the leather on his lap. He was now twelve and had gotten stronger. He had risen to the fourth circle of Runes and was almost finished with this circle. He had learned simple summonings, buffers, protections, and wards. He finished the pattern on the leather and carefully pushed power into it. It glowed a bright blue for a second and then dimmed back down. Hiccup carefully attatched a clasp to the leather and wrapped it around his right arm. He was ambidextrous, so everything he did was able to be done with either hand. As he snapped the clasp, he felt some of his magic drain, but also invigorate his muscles. It was a physical buff, and it should make him much stronger, and make him heal faster. He turned to his spellbook and carefully read the passage.

 _Each spell will drain the caster of energy to cast spells, but this can be countered by creating a relic. These are for storing power as well as spells. They are like runes, but with the energy to use them already placed inside. This practice is a fifth circle study._

Hiccup turned the page and found the waiting blank pages. He placed his palm on the pages and felt the usual pain. Words appeared.

 _You do not have the required experience to use this study. You must have more time working on fourth circle spellwork._

"Damn," Hiccup hissed. This was troublesome. Usually it took a few months to pass through a circle of magic, but this was a higher circle. Maybe he just needed practice with it. He turned to his book of trainings. He had seen many types of weapons in the pages, but his favorites were the swords. Short swords, longswords, broadswords, sabers, cutlasses, and rapiers. There were so many, but Hiccup admired them. They relied less on brute force and more on finesse. He had taken the time to sketch out a design, but he would need time in the forge to himself when no one would know that he had built himself a weapon. He had sharpened many knifes and had carefully made sure that no one knew that he had them. He heard the Front door slam and quickly pushed the books under the bed behind some extra blankets.

"Hiccup," he heard his father call.

"Yeah Dad?" Hiccup called back.

"Could you come down for a minute?" Hiccup trudged down.

"What is it Dad?" Hiccup asked.

"We're going on a search for the nest again," Stoick said as he sat down heavily on a large chair.

"O-okay?" Hiccup said cautiously.

"You'll be here, but I want you to…" Stoick trailed off. "Never mind."

"Okay," Hiccup said quietly. "Dad what do you see in me?"

"What?" Stoick asked startled. "Why are you asking that?"

"Everyone calls me useless," Hiccup said bitterly. "They don't like me. Why am I here? Wouldn't everyone have rather you left me to the wolves?"

"Hiccup," Stoick said quietly. "I know that you may not be very strong, but you still are not useless." He placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You are intelligent. I've seen your designs in the forge. They're more complex than anything I could possibly understand. I know that most of them don't see it, but you can help. Most of the time you actually just have bad luck. Blame Loki for that. But don't ever think of yourself as useless." He stood up. "We leave in the morning. I'll see you when we get back. Probably."

"And I'll be here waiting," Hiccup answered. "Without a doubt." His confidence had been boosted by this talk and Hiccup looked up to see his Dad for who he was. Not as the chief of the village, but as his father. "Goodnight Dad."

* * *

Hiccup watched as the vikings sailed away. If any ships came back, they would be broken and filled to the brim with the injured and surviving. Hiccup wasn't sure why they kept looking. He just chalked it up to Viking stubbornness. He walked down to the forge and began to gather up scraps that wouldn't be missed. He had made a new design and was hoping to make his mark on the killing of dragons. The catapults were powerful, but weren't very accurate and couldn't be used to attack the Dragons in the village. Hiccup quickly pulled out his large crossbow design and looked it over. He pulled out a small rune that he used to help heat the forge without the bellows when Gobber was around and began to melt the scraps of iron. If he couldn't use wood, maybe iron could be used. It was stronger, so if it could be used, it would be smaller and yet more powerful. Carefully he formed a long iron bar that was about the same thickness as a usual wooden bow. He formed the groove for the string carefully and sanded it down to make it more smoothed. He attached the string and gave it a pull. It bent, but not fully. Hiccup smiled. This could work.

* * *

Three battered ships pulled into port. Over twenty had left. Stoick was frustrated as usual and many helped to bring the injured vikings onto the shore. They had barely a quarter of the people that had left and most of them were injured.

"Well?" Stoick asked a nearby villager. "Has anything happened?"

"No," the villager replied. "The only things that I could think of are the prank the twins did, and that Hiccup has been in the forge or the forest almost the whole time that you were gone.

"What did the twins do?" Stoick asked with a sigh.

"They smeared honey on every sheep in the village," the man answered. "Now, if anything touches the sheep they get stuck. We've been picking just about everything off those sheep. Gort even found a boot."

"And Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

"No clue," the man shrugged. "Check the forest or the forge."

* * *

Stoick walked through the forest looking for Hiccup. A slam echoed through the forest and Stoick immediately charged after the sound. "Hiccup!" Stoick yelled, fearing that a dragon had attacked the young boy. He charged through the forest. And came to a halt. There was Hiccup, next to a huge contraption that looked like a bow, but made of metal.

"Dad?" Hiccup asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," Stoick answered. "What are you doing?"

"I'm testing out my invention. We didn't have the right kind of wood, so I used iron. It's been working really well," Hiccup answered as he loaded a large shaft of wood that had a heavy iron tip. As he cranked a mechanism, the bolt slid back so that the tip was the only thing still visible. He turned it towards a tree as he looked through a sighting ring. Hiccup pulled a lever and the machine bucked in recoil as the heavy shaft slammed into the tree. Splinters flew as the heavy iron head slammed into the tree, piercing it all the way through and embedding itself in another tree. A huge gaping hole was left in the tree and the two of them could see cracks begin to run up the trunk around the hole. With a groan, the tree fell, crashing to the ground on the side.

"What was that?" Stoick asked.

"This machine takes the principles of a bow and been supersized. Because our arrows don't do much to a dragon, I decided to make one that could. Plus, it's more accurate than the catapults, so they can be used to shoot dragons that are raiding the village directly." Hiccup explained. "I figured that I'd take what you said to heart. I'll find a way to help being that I can't help out the normal way."

Stoick laughed. "Your invention will be great! It'll help us all! Thor almighty this is amazing!" He laughed again and lifted Hiccup up onto his shoulders. He was sure that this invention would help with their dragon problem.

* * *

Hiccup aimed carefully at the Deadly Nadder that was busy herding the sheep into a corner. He aimed, and fired! But nothing happened. Hiccup turned to the mechanism. It had jammed! There was a piece of the bowstring in the mechanism and it shuddered. Hiccup could only watch in horror as the mechanism broke the bowstring. The machine bucked as the string was released from its confines. The arcing piece of the bowstring swung out and slapped across Hiccup's chest. Hiccup felt the string break his skin and draw blood as the projectile was launched from the destroyed mechanism. The shaft flew through the air and shattered the wall of a nearby house, before embedding itself inches away from a child's head. Hiccup watched with pain in his eyes as the building began to collapse. Desperately, he charged in and shielded the child from the falling beams. He felt one hit his back and he cried out in pain as agony shot through his body. The child underneath him looked up and he saw the scared face of Erik, Astrid's younger brother. The boy was maybe six years old and was obviously terrified. Hiccup strained against the heavy beam as the runes on his bracer began to glow without him noticing. Hiccup looked around and saw a small hole that was underneath the floorboards.

"Erik," Hiccup gasped. "Can you lift up those floorboards?" Erik slowly nodded, carefully lifting up the floorboards. "Now get in the hole."

"What about you?" Erik asked as the weight shifted.

"I'll follow," Hiccup answered. "But I can't go in until you do." Erik nodded and carefully climbed down into the hole. Hiccup lifted the beam as high as he could. "Erik, crouch as far away from the hole as you can." He waited a few seconds and then pushed the weight as hard as he could straight up. He then dropped the burden and dove through the hole as the beams came crashing down to the floor. Hiccup quickly found Erik and crawled over to the boy. "It'll be fine. We're fine."

* * *

Astrid and her parents watched in horror as the house fell to the ground. Erik had been with a friend when the dragon raid began and his friend had run. The Hofferson's house was on the very edge of the village so they rarely had to rebuild, but Erik had been with his friend. They had been in the house and now it was destroyed. The dragons had left. Carrying away much of their needed food, and now having destroyed houses and possibly killed more. Astrid walked over to the wreckage and began to pull out the destroyed pieces. Another pair of hands joined hers and she looked up to see Stoick with tears in his eyes. Hiccup had run in there. He was probably trying to save Erik.

More and more people came to help, even Snotlout, though it was probably just to try to look good for Astrid. Gradually the pile became smaller. Astrid came to the beam and began to try to lift it. Then it shifted. It shook and Astrid gasped.

"There's someone under here!" She called. Other vikings ran over and saw as the beam was lived a slight amount. Quickly Stoick lifted the beam to see Hiccup. He was in a hole. Several floorboards were missing and Hiccup's shirt had blood showing through. Astrid looked at him and he looked down. Erik poked his head up carefully. Apart from a few scratches, he was relatively unhurt. "Erik!" Astrid cried. She ran to him and helped him climb out. Her parents came and helped as they walked out of the wreckage. They were checking to make sure he was alright and Astrid turned to see Hiccup. He looked relieved and tired. As the beam was lifted completely, he climbed out of the hole. Vikings all around were congratulating him, and even Snotlout looked a little proud. Hiccup sat down and winced. Astrid immediately looked at his soaked shirt.

"What happened to your shirt?" Stoick asked. Hiccup looked down, surprised.

"I don't know," Hiccup answered. Then his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground.

* * *

Hiccup woke to a heavy pain in his head. He sat up with a groan and a wince as he felt a pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a bandage wrapped around his torso. He looked around to see it was night, and he carefully stood up. He walked downstairs to see Gobber cooking.

"Gobber! What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked. Gobber dropped what he was using and turned to Hiccup.

"Hiccup! You're awake!" He charged over.

"What? Wait! What's happening?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup! Ye've been out for weeks!" Gobber exclaimed. "You healed up mostly, but you just wouldn't wake up!"

"Oh!" Hiccup said. "But why are you here?"

"Me and your father have been taking shifts on watching ye," Gobber explained. "But because of his cooking, I've been having to spoonfeed ye with my own cooking. Honestly, ye'd think that he'd learn to cook better now."

"Ok." Hiccup said. "Should I go back to bed then?"

"Yeh, you should laddie. You need all the rest you can get. Just make sure to wake up in the morning tomorrow." Gobber joked. Hiccup walked back up the stairs and pulled out his book.

He placed his hand on the pages and watched a new message appear.

 _You have suffered a energy drain. This comes from overtaxing yourself with more magic than what you can with your physical state. This energy drain came from a Buff Rune. This rune was not charged with enough energy to cope with the physical activity. This caused it to drain magic from you directly while putting off the aftereffects. This causes extreme damage if done too often. Often, you will end up sleeping as long as it takes to reacquire the energy you expended._

Hiccup closed the book. He had been lifting that heavy beam for a while. That would usually take at least two huge vikings. It was no wonder that he had passed out. He looked at his bracer. It was still in good condition. Hiccup began to push energy into the runes again. He would not be unprepared for it again.

* * *

"I'm telling you," Erik ranted to Astrid. "He lifted that entire beam!" He huffed, with exertion. "I know you don't think that Hiccup can do anything, but I'm telling you, he held up the wreckage while I got into the hole. He came in afterwards, but he still held up the beam."

"Erik," Astrid said. "Some people can do amazing things, but Hiccup can't even lift a hammer. How could he lift that beam?" Astrid asked her brother.

"Something on his arm was glowing," Erik said. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask him."

"Sure Erik," Astrid sighed. "I'll ask him when he wakes up."

 **A.N. So I thought that Hiccup and Stoick should get that tender moment before everything falls apart. I mean we all know that hell is going to break loose soon. Please review and tell me what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Hey all. I'm back for another chapter. Finally Hiccup will actually get something done with his life. Read and review.**

Hiccup sat in the chair while Astrid seemed unable to speak. She kept opening her mouth but she never said anything.

"Is there something you're trying to ask me?" Hiccup asked.

"Erik said that something on your arm was glowing," Astrid finally said. Hiccup froze and then tried to pretend confused.

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked.

"I know. It's crazy," Astrid said quickly. "But Erik asked me to ask you about it."

"Well," Hiccup said. "I don't know what he could be talking about. I didn't do anything. And don't ask how I held up the beam, because for all I know, it could have been a blessing from the gods."

"Ok," Astrid conceded. "I guess that's that then." She stood up to leave. "But if you're lying, and I find out," she said as she picked up her axe. "You'll regret it."

* * *

Hiccup launched another bolt. He couldn't figure out what had gone wrong before. It should have worked fine. He had double checked, and triple checked. It should work fine. He wheeled it back to the village.

The next dragon raid, Hiccup used his weapon, which he had dubbed "The Mangler". It had malfunctioned and broken down. No casualties however.

This process repeated itself through the next year. Each time, he would fix it, and each time he tested it, it would be fine. He added precautions, made extra safety measures, and once completely rebuilt it from scratch. Nothing worked. Each time he tried to use it on the dragons, it would break, or misfire, or cause some kind of damage. People had taken to avoiding him, and Snotlout and the twins had taken their "fun" to a new level. Hiccup was now a toothpick with muscles, but with some handy acting, everyone thought he was still weak as hell. It didn't matter. It just helped him stay hidden. Fishlegs had been almost a friend, but due to Hiccup's "dangerous machine", he didn't stick around and usually was hanging around the others. Hiccup was thirteen, and many were convinced that this was his unlucky year. Others thought that he was cursed by Loki. Hiccup had learned two orders of magic and had several small talismans that were supposed to increase his luck, such as a Four leafed clover, and the foot of a Jackalope. Neither are easy to find and Hiccup had been lucky to find one on the island. It was pretty much a magic rabbit. The horns were almost nonexistent and once killed, it would only be tangible for about an hour. Hiccup had barely gotten the foot off when the rest of it crumbled into sand. It seemed to be useless and Hiccup wondered if he really was cursed by Loki. Each time his father looked more and more dejected with each failure.

Hiccup knew that his father had believed in him, but with his major screw ups, he wasn't sure that he did anymore. Hiccup had put more time into training and had gained lean muscles that he hid under his baggy clothes. He wanted people to like him for him, instead of what they saw. Snotlout and the twins had turned from picking on him as much, to other things. The twins just made more pranks while Snotlout tried to flirt with Astrid. Hiccup always had to be careful not to laugh when Astrid hurt him, or else he'd have to deal with Snotlout and the twins. Astrid didn't associate with Hiccup, but she didn't belittle or hurt him. She just ignored him. And that was okay with Hiccup. He wouldn't want her to talk to him out of pity.

The years went by. Hiccup was fifteen, and had learned three orders of magic. He had lean muscles and had built up his buffs with magic so that he could use extra strength when needed. He had built many machines, but each one failed. His father barely talked to him, and many nights, he came home tipsy from drinking. Hiccup's misfortune had stemmed way past his machines. If he stepped outside, usually something went wrong. Hiccup had tried to make talismans to help him. He had some that would divert heat around him, but it only lasted for a few seconds, so it wasn't good for a direct confrontation. He also had one that he called sting. It made the target feel a sharp pain. Almost like a needle. For humans anyway. For dragons it probably felt more like an arrow. He had used it on Snotlout on more than one occasion. It was funny to watch him dance around swatting at bees that weren't there. Hiccup used that one almost every day. Snotlout never figured it out though.

Even with these tools, Hiccup was a walking disaster. He was still short, as he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet. It would come in time hopefully. Hiccup had heard many vikings grumble about him being "worse than useless". That saying hurt. In fact, when someone screwed up, they called it a "Hiccup". That was even worse. Hiccup almost believed that he was cursed by Loki. Almost. He wasn't going to start blaming the Gods when things went wrong. Even if Loki had cursed him, what purpose would it have? Honestly, what god would give a damn about him?

* * *

Hiccup raced down the stairs as screams and roars pierced the air. He opened the door and was greeted by a blast of fire from a Monstrous Nightmare. He slammed the door shut as flames spread along the cracks in the door. Hiccup had installed flame retardance runes on the house, so anything except a direct blast of fire would not light the wood. Even now, the flames were only on the door and were already burning out. He quickly pulled on his belt that was full of knives and slipped an extra one in the sheaths under his arm and in his boot. He carefully checked his messy brown hair for any stray fires and finding none, continued out.

Hiccup ran through the village and saw many dragons flying about, lighting fires, and stealing food. He dove to the ground as a blast from a gronkle came about five feet away.

"AHHHHHHH!" A viking yelled before stopping over him. "Mornin'!"

Hiccup quickly stood up dodging vikings and running quickly. Suddenly he was yanked back by his shirt and out of the way of a blast of fire from a Deadly Nadder.

"What is he… what are you doin' out?!" Stoick yelled at Hiccup before shoving him towards the forge. "Get inside!" He turned back to the battle and picked up a wooden cart, using it by throwing it at a nearby dragon.

"How nice of ye to join the party!" Gobber called out to Hiccup. "I was worried ye'd been carried off!" He was working on a heavy broadsword with his hammer prosthetic.

"Oh c'mon," Hiccup drawled. "Me? There's waaaay too much of this for them."

"Oh they need toothpicks don't they?" Gobber shot back. Hiccup rolled his eyes before gathering all the weapons that various vikings had laying on the counter. He had been working with gobber since he was… littler. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the teens. They were putting out fires where they could, but it was always useless because another dragon would light it back up. Hiccup however couldn't for the life of him tear his eyes away from Astrid. She was the most sought after girl in the whole village. Snotlout had been trying to get her attention for the past few years, but usually just got bruises and a couple breaks in his nose. Hiccup quickly tried to climb out the window but as usual, was snagged by the back of his collar by Gobber's hook.

"Oh no," Gobber drawled.

"C'mon!" Hiccup exclaimed. "I just need to make my mark!"

"Oh you've made plenty of marks," Gobber reasoned. "All in the wrong places. Ye need to get your head on straight first. Once you can use a weapon, then you can go out there. Besides knives." Gobber knew how skilled Hiccup was with a knife, but those were useless on a dragon's thick hide. It would be a minor annoyance at best.

"I can do this!" Hiccup argued.

"Sword. Sharpen. Now," Gobber said with finality before handing Hiccup a heavy sword that he pretended to stumble under. Hiccup placed in on the grindstone before hearing a high pitched shriek.

"NIGHT FURY!" Yelled someone.

"GET DOWN!" Another called out.

Hiccup ducked as a blast destroyed the nearest catapult. A dark shape flew by. Almost impossibly fast. No one had killed one but Hiccup was resolved to be the first.

"See ya Hiccup. They need me out there," Gobber spoke while attaching a battle axe prosthetic. "Stay. Put. There. Ya know what I mean."

Hiccup waited maybe ten seconds before grabbing his newest version. It would launch a bola mechanically. This was helpful but not lethal, so had less chance of causing damage than the mangler. Hiccup hoped that his luck would improve with this new invention. He could barely stop from running full speed with the bola launcher. He quickly set up with a good view of the last remaining catapult. The Night Fury would only attack the catapults for some reason and so logically, this would be the most likely place for it to attack.

"C'mon, give me something to shoot at," he mumbled to himself. He heard the shriek and quickly aimed towards the catapult. A blast destroyed the catapult and the shape flew by as the explosion lit it up. Hiccup aimed, closed his eyes and fired. The recoil knocked him to the ground but he heard a screech as the sun began to rise. He saw the silhouette of the dragon fall down by raven point and he felt a surge of euphoria. "Did I hit it? I hit it? Yes I hit it!" He stood up, completely ecstatic. "Did anybody see that?" He heard a crunch and turned around to see a monstrous nightmare standing on the crushed remains of his machine. "Except for you," Hiccup drawled. "Dammit."

* * *

Hiccup ran as fast as he could. He dove through alleys, vaulted obstacles and eventually lost the dragon. He carefully caught his breath and peeked out to see the Nightmare pounce on Astrid. While the rest of the Teens ran away. Hiccup quickly without thinking, pulled out one of his many daggers and threw it. It flew end over end before impaling it in the back. The nightmare gave a funny squeak and turned to see the offending weapon. It turned to see Hiccup before pulling it out effortlessly. "Shit," Hiccup cursed. Then with a scream, to keep up appearances of course, he ran from the nightmare. Panting, Hiccup dove behind one of the many pillars that held the enormous torches. Fire erupted on both sides, and only Hiccup's runes saved him from getting singed. He carefully edged to the side to look only to see his father dive past him. He turned to see Stoick beating the Monstrous nightmare with his bare hands. The dragon quickly decided it had enough and flew away. A groan was heard and the post collapsed. Hiccup could only watch as a fiery brazier rolled all the way down the hill. Hiccup and the other villagers watched as Dragons carried off food, even a pair carrying sheep in a net strung between them.

"Sorry, Dad," Hiccup apologised. Everyone stared at him. "Okay but I hit a night fury."

"Hiccup," Stoick warned.

"I actually hit one Dad," Hiccup continued. "It worked. The launcher didn't fall apart or break like the mangler did. I hit it. It just went down by Raven's point. Let's get a search party out there and…"

"Enough!" Stoick roared. "Every time you step outside, disaster strikes! Winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"

Hiccup glanced around. "Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't you think?" He was obviously talking about some of the fatter villagers.

"Do you think this is a joke?!" Stoick asked. "No, I get it. I do. You want to help. You've told me before. But you are not helping. At best, you're a hinderance. At worst, you're a menace." He sighed. "Just go home." He turned to Gobber. "Make sure he gets there."

Hiccup walked "the walk of shame" as he called it. It was almost a weekly occurrence. The twins and snotlout all jeered at him as he passed by.

"Thank you, thank you, I was trying," Hiccup said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He did take comfort in the fact that Gobber smacked Snotlout over the head as he passed. Hiccup was frustrated. Finally something worked, and no one believed him. "I really did hit one."

"Sure," Gobber said. "But why ya tellin' me?"

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, if it's still there, then it's been tangled in a bola. Easy pickings. Even with a knife, ye could kill it," Gobber continued. "Listen. Go home. Then get out in that forest and see if you can find it. Kill it and ye'll be a hero. But if it's not there, leave it. Go for another shot next time. Also, If ye say that I said any o' this, then I'll deny it all."

Hiccup finished the walk to his house and turned back to Gobber. "Thanks Gobber," he said before opening the door and going inside. Gobber turned and began the walk back to the village. Hiccup waited maybe three seconds before tearing through the house, opening the back door, and racing out into the forest.

 **A.N. So I kind of figured that Stoick would still be a bit more of a father figure in the movie and that Gobber would be like the uncle that Hiccup needed instead of Spitelout. Sorry if you think that Hiccup is getting too connected, but this is the story and it's began to write itself in a way. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N. Hey you guys! I'm back! Here with another riveting chapter. I noticed that my chapters are getting shorter. I will do my best to update regularly and make these chapters longer. Sorry about how long it takes for each small chapter. Anyway, read and review.**

Hiccup ran through the forest. He opened his notebook and at each place he marked an x if the dragon wasn't there. He looked everywhere, systematically checking each part. He was getting frustrated. What if the dragon got loose? He'd never get another chance like this. He needed to find that dragon. He snapped the book shut.

"Oh the gods hate me," Hiccup ranted. "I try not to blame the gods, but they must." He turned his face to the sky. "You must hate me!" He said to the sky as if the gods could hear him. "There's just no other explanation. Some vikings lose their knife or their mug, but not me. No I somehow manage to lose an entire dragon!" He slapped at a branch and winced as it swung back and caught him in the face. Not smart. He looked at the offending branch and saw that it was hanging really weird. He turned his face up and saw the tree was destroyed.

"What in Hel's name happened here?" he wondered. The trunk was smashed in half and was pointing into the ground where a large divot had begun. It dragged over the hill and down to a clearing where tied up there was a DRAGON! Hiccup gasped and dropped down. He carefully drew a long knife that was about a foot long, and carefully approached. The dragon was still. He looked it over and saw that it was much smaller than most. It was black as midnight and had little in the way of weapons besides it's claws.

"Oh this fixes everything!" Hiccup said with relief. "Yes! I have brought down this mighty beast!" He stepped on the beast's back and it gave a loud groan while shifting. Hiccup stumbled back and pulled out another long knife. He looked at it again and saw a bright green eye staring back at him. Hiccup replaced the knife and took the other in both hands. "I, I, I'm gonna kill you dragon. I'll cut out your heart and take it to my father and he'll see that I can do things. I'm a viking. I am a viking!" He said before raising his knife. He hesitated and saw the dragon looking at him with… fear? No, he closed his eyes and raised the knife higher and the dragon slumped to the ground with resignation. Hiccup took a breath and plunged the knife down. Into the ground. He gasped. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to kill this beast in cold blood. He picked up the knife. He turned away and with a roar punched a nearby tree. The trunk cracked partially as splinters flew. He turned and slid down the trunk to a sitting position.

"Why!?" Hiccup asked. "I can't do it. I did this damage and I can't even finish it off." He looked at the knife in his hands. It wasn't like the other viking's knives. This was meant to hurt someone. It was his design for a weapon. He wasn't a viking in the physical sense, why would he be in the mental sense. He looked at the Night Fury and at the painful ropes that bound it. "I did this," he mumbled. He would release it, but then it would kill him. Plus, there wasn't any way for him to talk to it… "Shit!" Hiccup cursed. He had copied some runes into his journal and he quickly pulled it out. He looked through to find the runes he was looking for and grabbed a few nearby berries. He smashed them into a paste and walked over to the bound Night Fury. It saw him coming and turned towards him. Hiccup walked over to the dragon and marked his forehead. It was the rune for understand. Hiccup carefully pushed energy into it and the dragon twitched its nose. Hiccup removed his hand and the dragon sneezed.

"Okay," Hiccup began. "Nod if you can understand me." The dragon gave as much of a nod as it could. "I'll let you go. But if I do, then you can't kill me. At least not right now. If you want to take a go at me later, go ahead. Just not here and now. Nod if you understand." The dragon nodded again. "Okay. Do you give your word not to kill me once I release you?" Another nod. Hiccup drew his knife and began to cut the ropes. One. Two. Three. The dragon pounced, pinning Hiccup to a rock. Hiccup looked up into green intelligent eyes. It had lied. Why would it even keep it's word, supposing that it actually did understand him. Hiccup could only watch as the dragon snarled, reared back, and roared in his ear. Loudly. Suddenly it was gone. Hiccup only vaguely saw the shape through the forest. He gasped and quickly checked to make sure he hadn't been hurt. He stopped and began to laugh. He had told it not to kill him. He had never said that it couldn't scare the living shit out of him. Hiccup continued with his hysterical laughing for a few more minutes before standing up and beginning the long walk home.

* * *

Hiccup carefully opened the door to his house. His father was at the hearth with a poker shifting the logs. Hiccup as quietly as he could began to creep up the stairs.

"Hiccup," Stoick said suddenly. Hiccup froze. "I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, okay," Hiccup answered noncommittally. He walked back down to stand in front of his large father. He was still trying to figure out how he could ever bring himself to kill a dragon in cold blood. He would definitely do it if it were a life and death situation, but he had never yet had one like that.

"I think it's time for you to fight dragons," Stoick said with finality, jolting Hiccup out of his thoughts. Hiccup was stunned. This was the same man who earlier that day had been utterly ashamed of him.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hiccup asked, convinced he had misheard.

"You get your wish," Stoick answered. "Dragon training. You start tomorrow."

"Uh, wait, about that," Hiccup began. "Maybe that's not such a good idea. I mean 'cursed by loki and all' probably means that I shouldn't be training around others if at all, right?"

Stoick looked at him. "Do you honestly think that you're cursed?"

"Gods I hope not," Hiccup answered honestly.

Stoick nodded and turned around to grab an axe. "You'll need this," he said as he dropped it into Hiccup's arms. Hiccup had gotten strong enough to lift this weapon without any buff, and was too annoyed to pretend that he couldn't lift it. He held it easily in his arms and without any problems shifted it to his left arm. Stoick was surprised, but he brushed it off without thinking much of it. "When you carry this axe. You carry all of us with you. You walk like us. Talk like us. You are one of us." Stoick gathered his armor and heavy war hammer. "We're going on another search for the nest. I'll see you when I get back. Probably."

"And I'll be here," Hiccup said dejectedly. "Maybe."

* * *

"Welcome ta Dragon Trainin'," Gobber said excitedly.

"No going back," Astrid said calmly.

"I hope I get some serious burns," Tuffnut said.

"I'm hoping for some mauling," Ruffnut countered. "Like on my shoulder or my back."

"Yeah," Astrid replied. "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"Yup," Hiccup drawled as he walked in through the back with his axe slung over his shoulder. "Pain. Love it!" He said with his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Oh great!" Tuffnut complained. "Who let him in?"

"Uh, Hiccup already shot a Night Fury," Snotlout said as Hiccup hesitated. "So is he disqualified or…?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes at his cousin's antics. He felt Gobber's hand on his shoulder and turned to the crippled viking. "I know ye've been holdin' out on me," Gobber said. "I've been around long enough to know when someone is downplaying their strengths. I'll have none of that here. You go all out or you get out. I don't want to have to save you because you're too stubborn to use everything you have." He left Hiccup and Hiccup allowed himself a small smile. So Gobber had noticed. He noticed a lot more than what you'd expect. Hiccup hefted the axe and stood beside Fishlegs, who moved a half step away.

"Behind these doors are some of the species o' dragons ye'll have ta face," Gobber began. As he began listing the types, Fishlegs began rattling off statistics. At least till Gobber got annoyed and yelled at him. Then at least he whispered. "And…" Gobber paused as he put his hand on the lever. "The Gronckle."

"Wait!" Snotlout called. "Aren't you going to teach us first?"

"I believe in learning on the job," Gobber said with an almost malicious grin. He pulled the lever and the Gronckle shot out. It looked like a scaly, brown, bumble bee. "Quick! What's the first thing you need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup said with carefully rehearsed fear.

"Plus five speed?" Fishless asked with more seriousness.

"A shield!" Astrid called out. However she did glance at Hiccup and he knew that she wasn't fooled by his act. As long as she didn't blab to anyone, he'd be fine. And he knew she wouldn't.

"Right! A shield!" Gobber replied. "Shields, go!" The teens all scrambled for a shield and Hiccup quickly picked up a heavy shield. Much more weight and he'd have to use his buff to move about. Astrid was second to grab one and she definitely noticed. The twins were next, but they grabbed the same shield and began to fight over it. Snotlout and Fishlegs were last. Snotlout because he was trying to hit on Astrid and Fishlegs because he was looking for the biggest shield. The Gronckle turned towards the twins and launched off a shot. It smashed into the shield spinning the two of them around.

"Twins, ye're out! Each dragon has a certain number of shots!" Gobber called out again. "How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five?" Asked Snotlout.

"No! Six!" Fishlegs answered eagerly while completely forgetting about the dragon.

"Correct!" Gobber replied. "That's one for each of you!" Another fireball blasted into Fishlegs' shield and he ran screaming out of the ring. "Fishlegs, out."

"Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim." The teens began to bang on their shields and the Gronckle began to shake it's head in response. Hiccup dropped to the ground as another fireball flew over his head. He saw Snotlout hitting on Astrid again and he smirked as Snotlout got his shield blown off. Astrid gave a combat roll and ended up near Hiccup.

"So I guess it's just me and you?" Hiccup asked.

"Nope! Just you." Astrid replied as she dove out of the way of a fireball. It blasted Hiccup's shield and Hiccup barely tilted the shield enough to partially deflect it, though the handles broke. As the shield rolled away, the dragon flew after Hiccup. There was only one shot left. He just needed to keep from getting hit. He looked at the wall and got an idea. It would be the only way for him to get out of this uscathed, but it wouldn't help him stay hidden. Hiccup ran full sprint at the wall. The dragon close behind. He took two steps on the wall and jumped, backflipping over the dragon. Hiccup landed and raced for the shield. The dragon was confused and went after Astrid instead. Hiccup grabbed the shield and turned back to see the dragon trying to pen astrid into a corner. Sneakily, Hiccup reached into his pocket to grasp his Sting rune. He directed it towards the dragon and let out a small bit of energy. The dragon gave a small yelp and immediately turned back to Hiccup. As the dragon came flying back towards him, Hiccup spun with the shield before launching it at the dragon. The shield smacked the dragon right between the eyes as it launched it's last fireball. Hiccup dropped to the floor and felt his fire repelling rune activate. The fireball barely skimmed him, but he felt no heat as it flew by and hit the wall. The dragon charged Hiccup's prone form, but was still dizzy from the shield to the face. Gobber snagged it's mouth with his hook as Hiccup shakily stood up.

"Go back ta bed ya overgrown sausage!" Gobber yelled as he shoved it into the pen. As he closed the pen he turned back to the teens and then to Hiccup. "Remember, a dragon will always. Always. Go for the kill." He walked off with the others as Hiccup turned to look at the pen.

* * *

Hiccup picked up the shredded nets and bola. "Then why didn't you?" He asked. The dragon couldn't have actually been following the deal they had had it? "Why didn't you?"

 **A.N. The plot thickens! I know that this is about the dragon master but this story is the rise of the dragon master. This is more of a prequel for the story that will be coming out as soon as this one is finished. Please review. Thanks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N. Hi you bunch of amazing followers! And Guests! If you didn't review, well, you know who you are. Just crush my dreams with little to no feedback! Just kidding! I'm not** **that** **insecure. I feel like I should tell you that I will have a hard time updating this story as often as I have been. I know that that is a bummer, but I will try to update frequently. Anywho, read and review!**

"Why didn't you?" Hiccup wondered as he began to walk in the direction that he thought the dragon had gone in. He walked through the forest he had his knives and his runes, but what he was worried about was what he had done at the training. He had used skills that others couldn't even dream of. He had worked hard to get these abilities, but others might not like that he, "Hiccup the Useless" was actually strong and capable. This could be a problem, but it could be a great opportunity. He could use this. Maybe he could use this to better understand the dragons. He had used the runes to talk to the dragon. Maybe if he put an understanding rune on, he could understand the dragon as well. Hiccup stumbled over a root and noticed a small passage. He carefully avoided roots and squeezed through the passage to see a beautiful cove. There was moss and ivy on the walls, and a small pond in the center of the cove. Hiccup looked around and was almost disappointed. "Well this was stupid," he muttered. He saw something black and bent down to pick up a black glossy scale. He rubbed it with his hand and studied it. Suddenly a huge black shape flew by. Hiccup could only yelp, fall back, and stare at the black dragon that was scrabbling at the wall next to his little hidey hole. The dragon fel and glided back to the ground. Hiccup watched as the dragon tried to fly. It crashed and Hiccup quickly pulled out his journal. He drew a quick sketch and compared the two. "Why don't you just fly away?"

"Wait," Hiccup muttered. There was a difference in the tail. Hiccup looked closer and saw that the tail only had one fin. It was missing the left tail fin. The dragon dunked it's head and snapped at some fish, but it pulled back out with nothing. Hiccup slouched in guilt and the pencil slipped from his grasp. Hiccup made a snatch at it, but it fell to the bottom of the cove. The dragon turned and looked up at Hiccup. Hiccup met its gaze and tilted his head at the dragon. It tilted its head back at him and Hiccup drew back in confusion. The mark that Hiccup had placed was gone, probably washed off in the pond. Hiccup stood up and the Dragon didn't make any move except to tilt its head the other way. Hiccup began to walk away and nothing happened. Hiccup however kept staring at the Dragon. It was almost hypnotic, the green eyes, that were full of intelligence and curiosity. Finally Hiccup wrenched away his gaze. Before he could get ensnared in it again, he turned and walked out. He clasped his journal to his chest and gasped. He had felt the effects immediately after. It felt almost like a spell or maybe a long term relic. Finally Hiccup gained his breath and began the long walk back to the village.

* * *

Hiccup wearily pulled open the huge door to the great hall. It had been raining for the past hour and Hiccup didn't have the energy to activate a rune to repel some of the water. As a result of this, Hiccup was soaked utterly and completely. It wasn't too cold anyway. At least it wasn't snowing. He opened the door to see the other teens all seated at a table with gobber talking to them. He grabbed his food and mug and passed by the whole group, not even caring that Snotlout made sure to block him from sitting at their table.

"Now where did Hiccup go wrong?" Gobber asked drawing Hiccup out of his thoughts.

"Uh, he showed up," Tuffnut said.

"He didn't get eaten," Ruffnut chimed in.

"He chose a faulty shield," Astrid answered as Gobber smack the twins on the back of the head.

"Thank you Astrid," Gobber replied as Hiccup turned back to his food. "You can't just fight the beasts. You need to live and breath the stuff. The dragon manual," he explained as he slammed a book onto the table. "This book has everything we know on every dragon we know of." Thunder crashed as the storm got harder. Gobber looked up. "No attacks tonight. Study up."

The others immediately began to speak about how they shouldn't and Hiccup reluctantly stood up and walked over. The other teens left except for Astrid. Hiccup grabbed the book and was about to move away when he felt a hand grasp his wrist.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked.

"I was going to read the book. Unless you want to share?" Hiccup asked. Astrid released his wrist almost instantly.

"Read it," she said quickly as she stood up to follow the others. Hiccup sighed as he turned to get a few candles. The fires were beginning to burn low, so he would need light. He found a few candles and pulled them over to the book. He flipped through the pages, reading a few and scanning others. Finally he found the last section in the book. Mystery class. He turned the page to see an almost blank page.

"Night Fury. Size, unknown. Speed unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Do not engage this dragon. If you meet this dragon, hide and pray it doesn't find you.," Hiccup read. He reached into his vest and pulled out his journal with the picture that he had drawn. He slapped it down and smirked. Suddenly a burst of wind blew open the doors and blew the manual and Hiccup's journal. Hiccup quickly grabbed the two and placed the journal in his vest again. Immediately after, he turned to close the door only to slip on a rapidly growing puddle of water. He finally shut the door to find himself soaked again. He placed the book down on the table again and looked for a small water removal rune. He didn't use it much, but it was rather helpful. After some energy, he was simply damp, instead of soaked. He picked up the book and found some squashed pages. Hiccup quickly turned to them and tried to straighten the pages. He looked at the page.

"The Fallen. Size, unknown, but thought to be the size of a small island. Speed unknown. The only reports of this dragon are from a raving madman who claimed to have seen the dragon. His claim was that it was this dragon was the offspring of lightning and anger. Thought to be a dragon that had flown too high and was struck down by the gods, this dragon, if real, should never be fought. It is big enough to destroy an entire village just by stepping on it and has an unlimited number of shots." He looked at the book with disbelief. It just couldn't be possible. He turned the to the last page.

"Stardust dragon. Size, unknown. Speed unknown. This dragon is thought to be the the dragon that was gifted by the gods. Known to others as the benevolent dragon or a luck dragon, this dragon is thought to be the offspring of righteous fury and the understanding of death. This dragon has been seen by the masses but once. It has a lightning breath, though it is much more potent than a Skrill. Do not engage this dragon. It seeks no danger. If found, legends and rumors believe that you can ask it any question and get an answer." He closed the books. This was probably the only dragon that was not listed as kill on sight or do not engage. It was strange. Maybe there were other dragons like the night fury. Hiccup sighed. So much was unclear. He needed to find a way to make a two way translation. Hiccup carefully shut the book and made sure that the pages were straightened before running to his house, trying to avoid the rain.

* * *

"So I noticed that there was nothing but speculation about the mystery class," Hiccup stated. "Has anyone gotten any other, more solid, knowledge about any of those dragons?"

"No Hiccup," Gobber sighed. "Questions later. Now get in there!"

"Fine. Fine. Got it," Hiccup drawled.

"Today is all about attack!" Gobber called out. "Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Yer job is ta be quicker and lighter."

Fishlegs screamed as the Nadder embedded spines in his shield. "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!"

Hiccup slung the shield over his back and leaped onto the wall. He was light enough that he didn't knock it over, and used that to his advantage as he ran along the top to another part of the maze.

"Blind spot yes. Deaf spot, ehhh, not so much," Gobber said with a laugh. Hiccup saw the Nadder peeking into another hallway and saw Astrid pull a roll and Snotlout's sloppy repeat. The Nadder perked up as it heard Snotlout's shield hit the ground. The Nadder began to carefully walk towards the hall. Hiccup didn't even think. He shrugged off the shield and sprinted at the dragon Hiccup jumped up and kicked off the wall. He raised the shield and slammed it down on the face of the dragon. The dragon squawked and hit the ground with a thud as it's eyes rolled in its sockets for a few seconds. Hiccup took off down the corridor without waiting, but the Nadder still saw him. Hiccup lost the Nadder in the maze and the Nadder, while still disoriented, slammed into the walls of the maze, beginning to knock them down. The other teens were still inside and many got out. Astrid however, seemed to have horrid luck that day and multiple walls fell towards her. Astrid felt dove, and one wall landed on her legs, trapping her. Another began to fall and Astrid screwed her eyes shut awaiting the pain. But it never came. Astrid looked up to see Hiccup straining under the weight. Astrid saw the leather band on his arm glowing slightly. And she saw him slam his axe into the wood. He set down the wall, and surprisingly, the axe held it from crushing them. He slipped his hands under the other wall. And strained. Astrid felt the pressure lessen as she quickly pulled out her legs. Astrid stood and was quickly knocked to the ground by Hiccup as fire shot above them. Strangely, there was no heat though.

"Go! Go!" Hiccup yelled as he threw his charred shield at the Nadder. The Nadder was hit in the head again and it tried to shake it off. Hiccup and Astrid ran out as Gobber as quickly as he could with his peg leg, ran down to the arena. Snotlout was hiding behind a pile of walls, and the twins were whispering behind their own set. Hiccup turned to see the Nadder looking at him with confusion. Astrid continued as Hiccup watched the dragon. He tilted his head in confusion as the dragon turned and walked back towards the cage with unsteady steps as it tried in vain to gather it's bearing. Gobber wasted no time in shutting the door as soon as he got to the arena. The others turned to look at Hiccup who had begun to leave. He made sure to trip over a piece of wood, if only to delay their understanding that he was stronger than what they thought. He needed to see that dragon. Something was missing in this puzzle and he would find it.

* * *

Astrid pulled out her axe from the wreckage. She was so confused. Hiccup was the village runt. He was as skinny as a twig. He was shorter than she was, and was clumsy most of the time. But in the arena, he had been calm. He had held that heavy wall from crushing her, and had lifted the wall off her legs. His axe had been destroyed, but he had used the shield as a weapon instead. And the band on his arm had glowed. Astrid wasn't very superstitious, but even she considered magic from time to time, and what he was doing was definitely not normal. Erik had said that he had a glowing thing on his arm. Astrid had asked Hiccup, but why would he tell her anyway? She was confused and she hated it. Astrid turned towards the other teens. They had run, while Hiccup had helped her. Hiccup! The runt! Snotlout sauntered over and was about to open his mouth to speak when Astrid asked her own question.

"Has Hiccup ever been able to do strange things?" Astrid asked.

"Besides being weak and clumsy as hell?" Snotlout asked. "No. He's always been weak. I'm surprised he hasn't died yet."

Astrid ran her finger across the edge of the axe. She needed to pay Hiccup a visit.

* * *

Hiccup carried a shield and a fish. Hesitantly, he tossed a large cod into the cove. Nothing happened. Hiccup walked forward to stop. He pushed, but the shield was stuck. He jiggled it a bit, but it as stuck. He slipped underneath, and tried again, but it was stuck firm. He picked the fish back up and walked into the cove. He looked around at the beautiful scene of nature. And almost didn't notice the black dragon crouched on the rock. Hiccup froze as the dragon crawled down. He held out the fish. The dragon began to reach for it but then leaped back and growled. Hiccup stepped back and revealed his many knives. The dragon snarled. Hiccup reached for the first knife and the dragon hissed. He reached for it more slowly, and picked it up. He tossed it into the water. He began to do so with the other knives, finishing with the one in his boot. He removed seven knives in total. After he removed the last knife. The dragon sat down, almost like a dog. It's huge eyes looked at him with curiosity. It looked cute in a way, like how a puppy looks at you. Hiccup reached out the fish again, and the dragon began to reach for it.

"Huh. Toothless. I could have sworn you had…" Hiccup began before razor teeth shot out of the gums and the dragon swallowed the fish. "Teeth." Hiccup finished. The dragon looked at him and began to crawl towards him. "Wait, no." Hiccup tripped and backed up against the rock. "I don't have any more. The dragon's eyes rolled back into the head and it hacked up the head of the fish that it had just swallowed into Hiccup's hands. "I'm not eating this." The dragon looked him. Hiccup sighed. He lifted it and took a bite. It was revolting. He grunted and the dragon made a swallow. Hiccup slumped. He swallowed, and feeling the revolting texture of raw fish with saliva, gagged, and barely swallowed. He shuddered and the dragon copied him. He gave a small smile and the dragon's lips twitched as it formed a gummy smile. Hiccup hesitantly reached out his hand. The dragon growled and flew away. Hiccup watched as it used its breath to warm the earth on which it laid. Hiccup quickly and quietly walked over. The dragon looked at him. He pulled out a few berries and squished them on his hand. The dragon looked at him. Hiccup reached towards the dragon's head and the dragon gave a small growl. Hiccup stopped and left. He washed the berry juice away and sat down on a nearby rock. The Night Fury was seemingly pacified and Hiccup sighed. He looked at a stick and picked it up. He slowly, but expertly, began to sketch out the dragon in the soft earth. He heard a breath behind him. He didn't dare turn around. He continued and heard thudding steps as he turned around to see the dragon wadle off on it's hind feet. Hiccup turned back to his sketch he heard a crack and the dragon passed him, dragging a sapling through the earth. The dragon set down the sapling and looked at his scribble with appreciation. Hiccup stood up and looked around him. He took a step and the dragon snarled. He lifted his foot and it crooned. He placed his foot back down, and noticed that it was on the line the dragon had drawn. Again the dragon snarled. Hiccup carefully picked up his foot and stepped over the line. In an almost dance, Hiccup carefully placed each foot down as he traversed the image. Finally he stopped on the edge and felt a hot breath on his head. The dragon looked down at him. Hiccup reached up slowly and the dragon gave a low growl. Hiccup turned his head and with a leap of faith, he reached out his hand partially, without looking. He waited for the dragon to take advantage of him and kill him, but nothing happened. Finally, Hiccup felt something warm press against his palm. Hiccup turned to see the dragon with its nose in his hand. The dragon drew back and looked at him. Its nose twitched and it sneezed. The dragon then turned around and left. Hiccup looked at his hand with amazement as he let out the breath he was holding.

 **A.N. Sorry about how long it takes for each chapter. I am trying to keep up, but things are coming up. I also have a problem with apathy. I just don't feel like doing anything some days. Today though, I had a rush of inspiration and a desire to write, so I got this whole chapter finished. Please review, and share with your friends.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N. Sorry that this chapter took so long. On to the story! Please read and review.**

"And I saw th' look on its face. I was delicious," Gobber monologue with a roast chicken on his prosthetic. " 'e must have spread th' word, because it wasn't a month before anothe' one took my leg." He gestured to his peg leg.

"Wouldn't it be weird if you could control your hand that was inside the dragon still? Like then you could kill it by crushing it's heart or something," Fishless commented with some action from his chicken legs waving about.

"I swear, I'm so angry right now!" Snotlout said with his usual stupidity. "I'll chop of the legs of every dragon I fight! With my face!" Hiccup rolled his eyes and used his sting rune from inside his pocket. Snotlout shrieked and rubbed his arm where he had felt the pain. "Stupid bees!"

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. No, it's the wings and the tails ye want. If if can't fly," Hiccup looked up to Gobber's words. "It can't get away." He tore off a wing from his chicken. "Alright, tha's enough stories for tonight. Tomorrow, we get to the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way to the monstrous nightmare." Hiccup thought hard as he toned out the other teen's chatter. He quickly and quietly set down his gently roasted fish and walked quickly down to the forge. He cleared away all his projects and weapons and placed his journal on the desk. He pulled out a tanned piece of leather and began to sew it. He forged bars of iron and pulled out bolts and measured counterweights. He referred back to his book that was filled with schematics and designs. Finally, he finished the fin, and he slapped it closed. He had a place to be and amends to make.

* * *

Hiccup walked into the cove with a basket of fish that he had stolen. He had pulled one from the back so as to not be noticed. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

"Hey," Hiccup said. "I brought breakfast. Some icelandic cod, arctic salmon, and a whole smoked eel." The dragon drew back and snarled at the eel. Hiccup picked it up and the dragon lurched away with a shriek. "No! No it's okay! I'll just get rid of it!" He threw it away and reached back out towards the dragon. It sneezed and Hiccup wiped his hands on his vest. "Yeah I don't like eels either."

The dragon turned back to his breakfast and Hiccup walked quietly back towards the tail. "I'll just be over here," he said to himself as he sat down near the tail with the artificial fin. He opened the clasps and the tail moved. "No, it's okay," he said quietly. He tried to align the fin with the artificial and strap it on, but the dragon kept moving while looking for fish. Finally the tail was strapped on, and Hiccup looked at it critically. It was pretty good, and would work most likely. He mentally took note of some possible problems and compared the two fins in his mind.

Suddenly the dragon lurched forward and Hiccup shouted in surprise as the dragon took off with him holding onto the tail. He looked at the fin and saw it was closed. The dragon began to fall and Hiccup desperately wrenched it open. The dragon immediately took flight and rose in the air. "Oh my…! It's working!" Hiccup shouted. The dragon gave a sharp turn and Hiccup flew off before hitting the water. Hiccup was ecstatic, giving a shout of joy. The dragon crashed into the water and Hiccup quickly swam to the shore. Hiccup gave a short dance of joy and raced over to the dragon. Without thinking, he gave the dragon a hug around the neck before racing off completely oblivious to the dragon's glare of confusion and indignation.

* * *

Hiccup raced into the house, ecstatic about this new development. This could work. He could make that dragon fly again. The sun was going down, but Hiccup was wide awake. A thudding came from the door, and Hiccup opened it to reveal Astrid with her axe at her side. Hiccup's good mood almost immediately evaporated and was replaced by a feeling of apprehension.

"Astrid," Hiccup said with surprise and dread. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here," Astrid said calmly. "Because I want some explanations. You've been disappearing into the woods, and twice now, you've lifted incredibly heavy objects. Both times, you had a glowing thing on your wrist." She lifted her axe and fingered the blade. "So start talking. What's going on?"

"Well," Hiccup sighed as he desperately sought for a reason. Finally he decided to use a partial truth. "I've been working out. For a long time." Hiccup said finally.

"Really," Astrid drawled. "In the woods without telling anyone?"

"Yes," Hiccup said with finality.

"Sure you did," Astrid answered. "That's why you're still scrawny and short?" Hiccup hesitated before carefully pulling off his shirt and making sure that the rune band was still inside the shirt. Hiccup heard an intake of breath from Astrid as he revealed the muscles that he had been hiding. They weren't overly large, but were slightly more than just toned. Astrid's face was turning red and Hiccup wasted no more time in pulling his shirt back on and slipping the band back over his wrist.

"Does that prove it?" Hiccup drawled.

"Why would you hide that?" Astrid asked.

"Because I don't want people to like me because I'm like them or because of what they see. I want people to like me for being me." Hiccup explained. "But you'll probably tell everyone and the secret would be out." Astrid shook her head and Hiccup looked up. "What, you're not going to tell?"

"No," Astrid finally answered. "I may not understand your reasoning, but I will keep your secret." Astrid picked up her axe and left without a word, carefully shutting the door behind her. Hiccup breathed out in relief as she left and carefully snuck a look out the window to see her walking away. Things were getting harder and harder. Hiccup would need to reveal his secret, or give up everything he had worked for.

* * *

"Now," Gobber said. "A wet dragon head can't light it's fire. So the Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, th' other one lights it." Hiccup stared into the green fog that was billowing around them. It wasn't good to breath it in for too long, but it would be fine for ten to twenty minutes.

"Prefers ambush attack with venom for predigestion…" Hiccup's partner Fishlegs rambled.

"Will you stop that?!" Hiccup hissed in annoyance. The only way to find the dragon was by hearing, and he couldn't very well do that with the other boy's rambling. He heard talking from Snotlout and mentally groaned. He stealthily aimed his sting rune towards Snotlout's voice and released a burst of energy. He was rewarded by a yelp, and a few snickers from whom he could assume to be Tuffnut. The chattering had ceased and Hiccup desperately listened for the dragon.

"There!" Hiccup heard Snotlout yell. This was followed by two splashes, and a shouts of surprise from Astrid and Ruffnut as they were splashed. Hiccup tried to ignore them and vaguely heard Snotlout's feeble attempt to pick up on Astrid. Hiccup's attention was diverted when he heard the smacks from the females to the males. This was followed by Tuffnut screaming and then running past them crying about how he was "Very much hurt".

"Chances of survival dwindling into single digits now," Fishlegs whimpered while Hiccup rolled his eyes. Hiccup turned back towards the sound of Astrid's shout of surprise and then the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Where are you?" Hiccup wondered aloud. A head snaked out of the fog, with eyes like vertical slits. It slithered towards Fishlegs and he panicked. He scrambled away and then dumped his bucket of water on the head. The Zippleback head gurgled and hissed as gas leaked out of it's mouth.

"Oh," FIshlegs said. "Wrong head." The dragon let out a blast of gas and Fishlegs ran in terror screaming like a little girl. The other head popped out of the fog and began to make sparks while looming over Hiccup. Hiccup went to throw the bucket of water, and tripped over the discarded bucket that one of the other teens had dropped.

"Ah, c'mon," Hiccup drawled. The two heads slunk down and hissed at him. They snapped at him and then stopped. They began to screech and back away. Hiccup tentatively stood up and took a step towards them. They backed up, and Hiccup managed to herd them back into their cage. "Now think of what you've done." Hiccup said, unable to keep himself from one last jibe. He stealthily picked up the eel that he had hidden under his vest, and tossed it into the cage. He'd pull it out later, but it had been a last resort. He pushed the gates shut and turned to see everyone staring at him. "Is that it? Are we done?" No answer. "Welp I'm gonna go… yup, see ya." He called as he walked out.

* * *

Hiccup stitched leather with concentration. It was late, and no one was up. He had been working for hours and had already gone back to the arena to remove the eel. He had spent time building straps and creating a harness that could stretch over the dragon, which he had begun to call "Toothless". Hiccup didn't think that Toothless liked the name, but until Hiccup could use the translation runes, he wouldn't be able to get the dragon's real name. He carefully measured and crafted until early morning. He was the only one awake, and had used an alertness booster to bypass the need for sleep. Carefully he ran through the village avoiding all the early risers. Most Vikings would wake up only if something exploded with a few exceptions. If they had been drinking, it would take even longer for them to wake up. Because of this, Hiccup found no trouble in getting out to the cove.

Hiccup raised the saddle in pride. Toothless crouched and then bolted. Hiccup quickly gave chase and the game of tag began. Hiccup raced around with the saddle in hand after Toothless while the dragon easily evaded him. Hiccup was unable to make the sharp turns and was always chasing fruitlessly before the infuriating dragon would suddenly change directions and go the other way. Finally, Toothless stopped and allowed Hiccup to place the saddle on. Hiccup hesitated and reached into his vest to pull out a small jar of red ink. He opened it and dabbed his fingers into the jar. Hiccup hesitantly reached out with his fingers towards the dragon and Toothless drew back. Hiccup stopped and carefully drew the rune of understanding on his head. He reached back out and this time, Toothless allowed the ink to touch. Hiccup drew the rune and pushed energy into it. He felt the rune on his forehead grow warm and was greeted by a huge wave of consciousness. He gasped and stumbled back. The stream of thought faded and Hiccup straightened to look at the dragon before him that had it's head tilted in confusion.

" _Are you alright?"_ Hiccup heard a female voice in his head. He had heard growling with his ears, but had understood.

"I can understand you!" Hiccup cried out. "It worked!"

" _What worked?"_ The voice asked. " _Is this understanding the purpose of marking yourself and I with that foul substance?"_

Hiccup turned towards the dragon. "Wait. Are you a girl?" He asked. The dragon nodded. "Do you have a name?" Hiccup asked her.

" _Names are powerful things."_ Hiccup heard her speak. " _A dragon's name is only known by their closest friends and family. You may not know my name."_

"Well I need to call you something," Hiccup replied. "I was calling you Toothless before, but I don't know if you still want me to call you that or if you have a different preference."

" _Call me what you wish,"_ She answered. " _I don't care that much. Just be wary of what you use. Names hold power."_

"I'll tell you my name then as a proof of trust," Hiccup said. "My name is Hiccup."

" _No,"_ Toothless replied with a shake of her head. " _That is what you are called. That is not your name."_

"What's the difference?" Hiccup asked.

" _A name is the culmination of your being. Those that weave spells can use them to command others or simply weave them into a spell or vise versa."_ She explained. " _Humans usually do not ever learn their real name. All creatures have a name however and they can be used. For this reason I will not give you my name, and I don't expect you to give me yours, even if you knew it."_

"Okay," Hiccup conceded. "At least I can talk to you. But how do you like the harness? Is it too tight or loose? Does it fit?" She nodded. "Okay. The reason I made this is to help you fly again. It's my fault that you can't fly, so I'm going to fix it."

" _What is this for?"_ Toothless asked.

"Well," Hiccup said. "Until I can find a good way to connect the fin up here I'll need to be able to fly with you to help control the fin."

" _So you want to ride me. Like a horse."_ Toothless snarled.

"No," Hiccup said hurriedly. "You'll still be in control, I'll just be helping with the fin. I don't know how to work with it yet, so…" Toothless huffed and turned.

" _Then get on. I want this over as soon as possible."_

 **A.N. All right. If you don't like a female Toothless, then leave. It's happening. Deal with it. I also felt like Astrid would be a little more accepting to Hiccup. Please review and come back to the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N. Alright so I am sorry that the last note was a little rude. And that this took so long. I started another fanfiction. The story will have some Toothcup (I hate that name). This is going to develop into a harem story. Please don't hate me, but that's where this is going. Anyway! On to the story!**

Hiccup worked with Toothless daily, each time flying with her as he tweaked the fin and saddle and learning about the dragons that he had been taught were mindless killers. He had learned about dragon nip, and about the secret places that they loved to have scratched. He had learned likes and dislikes and had through their many talks, had even learned some about their culture. Hiccup used these tricks to quickly rise through the ranks and found new popularity. Hiccup loved that now he wasn't the laughing stock, but deep down, he still knew that it wasn't really him that they loved. It was the facade that he had put on to stay in the village. He had more of a friend in who was supposed to be his lifelong enemy than anyone in the village.

"Why do you attack us?" Hiccup asked one day. "I mean, all you do is take food, and I know you guys are able to hunt.

" _You wouldn't understand,"_ She said sadly.

"Try me," Hiccup said as he idly drew runes in the dirt.

" _You know nothing about magic and wouldn't understand anything,"_ She countered. Hiccup stood up and looked at his runes. He scrubbed them out and began to draw again.

" _What are you doing?"_ Toothless asked.

"You'll see," Hiccup responded as he continued. Finally he finished and checked his work. Finding no problems, he placed his palm on the ground and forced energy into the ground. The runes began to glow a bright blue and began to peel off the ground. They massed together and began to form a bright blue shape. It grew wings, and a pair of legs. Two arms outstretched in front of the wings that sprouted feathers. A hooded robe dressed the creature. The figure turned to look at Toothless and flew closer.

" _What is this?"_ Toothless asked.

"It's an animation," Hiccup explained. "It's not really alive, but it moves and to an extent thinks. It mimics real life. I created an angel I think. I only heard about them from stories the traders tell."

" _Is it magic?"_ Toothless asked.

"Well," Hiccup said, "It's the manipulation of the world, so yeah, magic." The animation dissipated into the air and Hiccup felt the backlash of magic. He stumbled before righting himself. "I don't know too much of it. I've barely started learning Natural magic. I can use runes and can make talismans reasonably well."

" _Still!"_ Toothless cried. " _That's more than what I expected. I will help you with what I know."_

"What do you know?" Hiccup asked.

" _I cannot speak for human magic, but dragons and other creatures that can use magic rely on the force of will."_ Toothless explained. " _Our magic is rarely used, and is only helpful in rare occasions. Human magic is much more versatile."_

"Okay," Hiccup said. "But that doesn't help if I can't use it. I've gotten behind with inventing and doing dragon training." Immediately he cringed.

" _Dragon training?"_

"It's something that all the youth have to participate in. We have to learn to fight dragons. I used to want to do it, but now, I just go to use less violent ways of subduing the dragons so the others won't hurt them." Hiccup quickly explained. "If we could stop this war, then everything would be so much simpler."

Toothless sighed. " _I guess I should tell you then. A dragon's nest is ruled by an Alpha. They are the strongest and can bend other dragon's minds to their will without knowing the dragon's true name."_

"So the Alpha is making the dragons raid?" Hiccup asked.

" _Not quite,"_ Toothless answered. " _Our nest doesn't have a Alpha. There's a queen. Well that's what she calls herself. She can't completely control us, but if we fight her, she inflicts pain on us. That's what she can do. Any dragon within her sphere of influence can be attacked at any moment. Some even go insane from this. Then they simply do as she commands with no hesitance. Without her direction, they lash out blindly._

Hiccup considered this. "Then, why isn't she forcing you to climb out?"

" _She can't"_ Toothless answered. " _Plus she doesn't want to. I'm worthless to her because I can't fly. She considers me not worth saving. While some dragons could possibly heal me, she doesn't think that it's worth the effort."_

Hiccup thought about it. "If I help you to fly again, will she take control again?"

" _No,"_ She answered. " _Because I'll only be able to fly with your help, I doubt she would expend energy on taking control of me again."_

"Well," Hiccup began. "What if I helped you to free the dragons? It'll solve both of our problems!" He sat down next to Toothless. "I'll work harder, and learn as much as I can. Then we'll go and stop the queen!"

" _Sure,"_ Toothless said gently. " _That's only if I ever fly again."_

"You will fly again," Hiccup said with surety. "I **WILL** make it happen!"

" _Sure you will,"_ Toothless said with a smile.

* * *

Hiccup idly rolled his charcoal on his desk. He was conflicted. He had made a promise to Toothless, but if he followed through with it, he would be turning his back on his heritage, his family. Maybe he should tell the others. Maybe he should try to explain the situation. And how he used magic, and had used his tricks to get through dragon training. He'd probably have better luck by praying to Loki.

"Hiccup," Stoick said suddenly, startling Hiccup as he quickly leaped up and shoved his diagrams and drawings behind him.

"Dad!" Hiccup said. "Gobber's not here so…"

"I know," Stoick said as he struggled through the door. "I came looking for you."

"You were?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah," Stoick said impassively. "So. Let's talk about that dragon."

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked.

"How long were you going to hide it?"

"I don't know what…"

"NOTHING happens on this island without me knowing about it," Stoick said as his sat down. "So let's talk about that dragon."

Hiccup sighed. "Gods Dad. I'm sorry, I just didn't…" Stoick began to laugh. Hiccup gave a nervous chuckle. "What, you're not upset?"

"Upset?!" Stoick asked. "NO! This is exactly what I was hoping for! Imagine when you spill a nadder's guts for the first time. Or mount a gronkle head on a spear? You really had me going! But with you doing so well in the ring, now we have something to talk about." He scooted up. Hiccup deflated he had almost hoped that his father had found out what was really going on.

"Oh, and I brought you something," Stoick pulled out a Helmet. "Your mother would have wanted you to have it." Hiccup tentatively rubbed the top. "It's half of her breastplate." Hiccup pulled away in slight discomfort.

Hiccup faked a yawn. "Wow I'm tired. I'll uh, talk to you tomorrow."

"Yup. Yeah, get a good night's sleep," Stoick said as he quickly left the room.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Hiccup said. He sagged back into his chair and heard a crash from the room his father walked into. Like an ox in the weapons room. Hiccup gave a brief chuckle before frowning again. He still couldn't even be in the same room as his father. It's not like a day can change years, but still. He would need to figure things out quickly. He looked back down at the helmet. "Dammit dad, I'm not who you think I am, and you never notice anything anyway. What am I going to do?"

* * *

Hiccup ran as fast as he dared to the cove. It was early morning, and no one would be awake, plus dragon training wasn't for a few more hours.

"Toothless!" He called. No answer. He looked around the cove to find her asleep, hanging from a tree branch. He smirked as he got a devilish idea. Quietly he sneaked over. Using a blade of grass, he tickled her snout. She snorted and twitched. Hiccup repeated the action. She twitched more and slightly slid off the branch. Hiccup continued with the tickling, each time, she woke up a little more and slid a little more off the branch. Finally Hiccup tickled her just enough for her to fall. With a roar of surprise, she fell to the ground and Hiccup was unable to hold in his laughter.

" _Of course,"_ she drawled.

"Oh c'mon," Hiccup gasped out. "It was so funny! Your face was priceless!"

" _Well,"_ Toothless as she crouched. " _Wonder what your face will look like."_

"Wait, what?" Hiccup managed before Toothless pounced on him. Within no time, she had him pinned underneath her. "Oh c'mon. Did I hurt your pride that much?"

" _No,"_ she said. " _It was just funny."_

"Can you get off me?" Hiccup asked.

" _No,"_ She replied.

"Why the hell not?!"

" _It's comfy here,"_ She said with a chortle.

"Look I'm sorry for pranking you," Hiccup said. "Now will you please get off me?" She grudgingly got off him.

"Do you want to go flying?" He asked. She nodded happily. "Then let's go!" He said before climbing on. Hiccup hooked in his foot and off they flew.

They flew above the trees and Hiccup quickly consulted his cheat sheet. He was getting better at it, but it was still taking too long to find which one was correct. They flew down to the sea stacks and Toothless glanced off one.

"Sorry!" Hiccup called. She smashed into another sea stack. "My bad!" She slapped him with her ear. "Yeah I'm on it. Damn reptile." This earned him another smack. "Hey!"

Quickly, he readjusted the prosthetic fin and corrected their course. The two flew smoothly and Hiccup watched in amazement as he saw what no other human had seen before. The possibilities of flight were endless, and he loved it. Toothless gave her gummy smile.

" _Want to go higher?"_ She asked.

"Yeah!" Hiccup exclaimed.

" _Hang on!"_ Toothless replied as she began to fly straight up. Her powerful wings pushed the two up higher and higher.

"Yeah!" Hiccup shouted. "This is amazing! And it's all thanks to…" the wind tore his cheat sheet off. "MY CHEAT SHEET! STOP!" He yelled reaching for the sheet. Toothless froze and gravity took over, she sank and Hiccup continued, with the belt holding him in the saddle coming loose.

" _Hiccup!"_ Toothless called.

"Toothless!" He screamed as the two began to fall. The two fell through the air, unable to control their descent. Toothless frantically reached for Hiccup, and Hiccup did the same. The ground was approaching much too quickly and they would die if they hit the ground. Hiccup could see his life flashing before his eyes, as the air whistled around him.

Hiccup reached as far as he could and snagged the saddle. He pulled himself to Toothless, locked in his foot and his safety belt, and pulled on the pedal. Their descent slowed down rapidly as Toothless screeched in pain and fear at the pulling on her wings. Hiccup looked at his sheet for guidance as the pillars loomed closer. The wind pulled on the sheet, making it flap around uncontrollably. Hiccup made a decision and threw the sheet to the wind. He leaned forward and tilted the pedal.

Something changed. He was moving the pedal on instinct, and it was working. The two weaved through the maze of sea stacks, each coming close to death. Hiccup moved in perfect sync with Toothless, each change in the pedal a perfect match to what was needed. Finally the two left the maze that could have killed them. Hiccup sat up and turned to see the maze of rocks behind them.

"YES!" Hiccup shouted as he raised his fists in victory. Toothless smiled to herself and launched a fireball in celebration. The ring of fire that radiated outward from it caused Hiccup to grimace. "Oh come on."

* * *

Hiccup sat on the beach next to Toothless with a pile of fish between them. Although Hiccup's rune had spared him the worst of the blast, his hair still was blackened and ash was smeared on his face. If he was hit directly by one of Toothless' fireballs, he doubted that the rune would stop it from utterly destroying him. Idly he roasted a fish while Toothless munched on her pile of fish happily.

" _So how's your magic coming?"_ She asked.

"It's going well," Hiccup replied. "But there are other problems on my mind right now."

" _Like what?"_ Toothless asked.

"Like what to do about my Dad," Hiccup answered. "He expects me to follow in his footsteps. To be a dragon killer. But he doesn't know you or other dragons like I do. And others like me now. They love that I can stop the dragons in the arena but the thing is, that they don't really know me. They saw Hiccup the Useless, or Hiccup the Screw-Up. Now they see Hiccup the beast tamer, or Hiccup the Dragon Whisperer. They don't know me, or my secrets, or even what I want to do. Gobber was the only one who actually cared, and he doesn't hate dragons. He simply believes that it's what needs to happen." He stood up. "I don't know if I can do this for much longer. I'm afraid I'll have to take a side. With you, my best friend and possibly the only one who actually knows me, or with my village that has my family, and doesn't actually know who I am."

Toothless considered this for a few moments. " _I only think that there is one thing to consider. Who has stood by you the most? And do you think that you can change their minds about dragons. If the answer is yes, then who says you have to choose?"_

Hiccup turned back to her. "Thanks Toothless."

" _Ravyn,"_ She countered. " _It's not my true name. True names are almost impossible to translate, but that is close enough."_

Hiccup gave a small smile. "Thanks Ravyn."

* * *

Hiccup sat behind one of the wooden barricades and held an axe in his hand. His helmet from his parents sat on his head. Astrid dropped next to him.

"I'm winning this thing, stay outta my way," she snarled.

"Please by all means," Hiccup drawled. She dove to the next barrier. Hiccup stood and looked to see his father watching him expectantly. Hiccup turned and leaped over the barrier and towards the Gronckle that was flying around lazily.

" _When I find you, I'll blast you so hard!"_ The Gronckle roared. Hiccup dropped behind a barrier. He had understood that dragon! This wasn't Ravyn, this was a completely different dragon! He peaked over the edge. Just because he understood the dragon didn't mean it could understand him. He pulled out some dragon nip. He peeked over to see the Gronckle flying directly towards him. He held out the weed and the dragon crashed to a stop right in front of him. He quickly scratched the dragon in the vital places. She slumped to the ground just as he heard a war cry from Astrid. He turned to see her stopping her charge as she looked at him with anger.

"NO!" She screamed. "Son of a half troll, mulch eating,...!"

"Well, see ya," Hiccup said as he tried to walk away.

"Nope," Gobber said as he lifted him up with a little difficulty as Hiccup was heavier than he expected. The villagers were cheering and screaming in appreciation.

"Wait! Wait!" Stoick called. "The Elder needs to make her choice." Gobber held his hand over Astrid. The Elder shook her head. Gasps from the audience were clearly audible. Gobber lifted his hook over Hiccup. The Elder gave a nodd in affirmation. The audience's cheers were deafening.

"Ya did it! Hiccup, ye get ta kill tha dragon!" Gobber said excitedly as the other teens lifted him up on their shoulders except Astrid who was glaring at him.

"Yeah," Hiccup drawled. "I'm so…"

* * *

"Leaving!" Hiccup walked into the cove with a basket of fish, his books, paper and charcoal, and a few changes of clothes. "We're leaving. Time for a little vacation forever." He walked by a boulder and then heard soft footsteps on the rock. He quickly turned and drew two knives.

"Who're you talking to?" Astrid asked as she sharpened her axe blade.

"What are you doing here?" Hiccup said. Astrid hopped down.

"No one just gets as good as you," Astrid snapped. "Especially you."

Hiccup snapped at that. Hiccup swept out her legs and slammed her into the ground holding the shaft of her Axe against her hands that were trying to protect her throat. He planted a knee on her midsection and leaned down. The band on his arm didn't glow, this was all him.

"Since when did you care enough to actually notice?" He snarled. "Is this because I beat the great Astrid Hofferson? Because Hiccup the Useless actually began to show some promise? I can be as good as I want, and I'll continue to do so! Since when have you given a damn about me?! Even when we were younger, you ignored me when Snotlout beat me, when the twins humiliated me, when the whole village refused to give me help!" He took a deep breath and lessened the pressure on the axe. "I used to think that it was better to be ignored than beaten, but I've learned since then. At least when Snotlout and the twins hurt me, they actually thought that it was worth their time, and showed that they at least had enough respect for me to consider me a threat. You however, the stone cold bitch that you are, ignored me. Couldn't keep away from me enough. I saved your brother, and most people just blew it off as me showing promise. Not you. You actually talked to me and I thought that maybe, just maybe, you actually noticed me. But no! You just went back to ignoring me. Thought yourself so high and mighty. Well let me tell you something!" He grabbed her throat with one hand. "I could kill you. And nobody would ever think to question 'Hiccup the Useless' because no one actually believes I could do anything." He released her and she gasped for breath. "But I'm not going to," he whispered and her eyes widened. "I'm going to tell you this. I had the biggest crush on you for forever. But it dwindled away. Y'know why?" Astrid shook her head slightly. "Because I realized I could find better." He said before standing up. Astrid backed away. "I hope you win the fight tomorrow because I'm not going to be there."

Astrid snatched her axe up and ran. She ran as fast as she could. Hiccup watched as she left. He knew then that he had made his choice. He was going against his family, and everyone he knew, but was going to be with the one friend he truly had.

Hiccup picked up his baggage and continued his walk. Ravyn met him halfway.

" _What happened?"_ She asked.

"I made my choice," Hiccup said. He gestured to his pack. "This is the stuff I need. Think you can carry it?"

" _Yeah, but what's in the basket?"_ She asked.

"Our dinner. I figured it would be better if we didn't have to go find food as soon as we got to where we're going," Hiccup reasoned.

" _What made make your choice?"_ Toothless asked.

"You did," Hiccup answered. "You're my best and only friend. I'll be by your side and will help you because you helped me." He said. "Now let's get going. I don't want to be here any longer and I doubt you do either." Ravyn nodded in agreement. The two flew into the sky leaving the island behind them.

 **A.N. Alrighty! So this is not the** **LAST** **chapter, but it's almost over. Don't worry, there will be a sequel after this. It just might take me awhile to get to it. But anyway, hope you liked the chapter. Sorry if Hiccup is to OOC, but that's how it turned out in this.**


	8. Chapter 8 (Epilogue)

**A.N. Alright. Last chapter of this fanfiction. The sequel will be coming soon after this. Maybe not right after, but soon after. Anyway, read on and find that story which you seek.**

Stoick waited at the arena. He waited eagerly for the fight to begin. He had seen Hiccup at the highest he had been in his life. He waited. Oh if his ancestors could see him now. The gate raised and Stoick watched as… Gobber walked out?

"He's not here?" Spitelout asked.

"The lad's gone!" Gobber yelled.

"Does anyone know where Hiccup is?" Stoick asked. Astrid looked a little guilty, but she said nothing. "Anyone?" No one answered.

"Don't worry Stoick, we'll find him," Spitelout said. The vikings began to search. They checked the whole village, and found nothing. A basket of fish was missing, and some of Hiccup's clothes and drawing tools were gone, but no Hiccup. Astrid walked silently and Stoick walked towards her.

"You know something?" He asked.

"Yes," Astrid said as she felt tears sting her eyes. "I confronted him about how he got so good. He disarmed me and could have killed me. I thought he would do it. He was angry, and ranted for a while. Long story short, he said that he wouldn't be at the match today."

"Do you know where he could have gone?" Stoick asked.

"The last time I saw him, he was in a cove in the forest," Astrid said.

"Take us there," Stoick ordered.

The vikings all found themselves at the rim of a cove. There were vines that some of the vikings scaled down while the twins and Astrid simply went through the small hole that Hiccup used as an entrance. Down at the bottom, they found footprints and small traces of blood. Astrid shuddered and walked with the chief.

"Chief we found something!" A villager called.

"What'd you find?" Stoick asked.

"Best if you see for yourself," the villager said dejectedly. Stoick came and saw a piece of paper and red writing on it. Stoick paled at the writing. Could this be a curse or a prophecy of things to come?

 _Live and seek vengeance, Is what is taught,_

 _But to seek the truth, Is often not,_

 _You are blind, And you are fools,_

 _But never has your anger cooled,_

 _I am the betrayer, the forgotten and scorned,_

 _My honor naught but a crown of thorns,_

 _I know what you don't, what you never learned,_

 _So I am different, not what after you yearned,_

 _But a warning I give, of one to beware,_

 _Give up your useless quest, stay away from the lair_

Stoick reread the paper again and again. This was a warning. Things would change, and Stoick felt only on thing that he had not in a long time. Fear. He felt fear, and turned to the others.

"Is there anything else?" He asked.

"Just these scales," Spitelout answered. He held out some black scales. They were blacker than night, and one had the same red stain as before.

"What dragons have scales like these?" He asked.

"To our knowledge, only a Night Fury, possibly," Fishlegs chipped in. No other vikings had any other knowledge to share.

"So a Night Fury killed my son?" He asked. "And did someone use his blood to write this?" The other vikings had no alternative theories. "The one who brings me the head of the night fury, will become chief. If no one kills that demon before I die, then the next chief will be Snotlout." He was barely containing his fury. As they walked back into the village, tears began to leak out of the corner of his eyes.

* * *

Astrid sat on her bed with tears in her eyes. Had she really been jealous of Hiccup? She had ignored him, but as soon as he began to get better, she had felt the need to take it out on Hiccup rather than actually try to match him. But then to know that he was dead and probably eaten by a dragon? It was crushing. He had saved Erik and her, but she had thrown it in his face. She laid there and wept out of guilt and sadness as she realised that one of the people that could have been her greatest friend was now gone.

* * *

Hiccup flew with Ravyn down to the Island that they had decided to stop at. It was a rather large island with a mountain in the center. Pools of water were scattered throughout the forest. Hiccup was tired, and he had no doubt that Ravyn was too. He had used some crushed berries to write the note, and he hoped that it would make them leave the nest alone. No good would come from them searching for it."

" _We've been flying for a long time,"_ Ravyn commented. " _Do you think that we're far enough away?"_

"Yeah," Hiccup responded. "We should be fine if we set up camp here."

" _I mean in the long run. This place is beautiful and I don't think anyone lives here,"_ She countered.

"Sure Ravyn," Hiccup said. "It does look nice." He considered the thought. "If we stay here, we'll have to stay hidden." Ravyn nodded. "Then I see no reason why we can't stay here."

* * *

{}{}{}{}{ Three Months Later }{}{}{}{}

A figure walked into town. He was of average height and of a skinny build. A heavy, hooded fur coat was worn and metal gauntlets covered his hands. His boots were of sturdy leather and cotton trousers completed the guise of a trader. The only thing that was different was the mask that he wore. It covered his eyes and nose. The heavy metal was studded and polished carefully. A scarf covered the bottom half of his face. A heavy pack was on his back and a simple wooden staff was in his left hand. The staff was perfectly straight and the top was carved into the head of a wolf. He walked into town and straight to the marketplace where he sat before pulling out a cloth roll.

"Who are you?" A small viking child asked.

"I am a trader," the figure answered in a deep voice.

"Market day was yesterday," commented another child.

"I was unavailable yesterday," he answered.

"How'd you get here?" A concerned mother asked.

"Would you believe me if I said I flew?" He said. The woman rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Well what do you have?" She asked. He pulled out a few more rolls.

"What are you looking for? I do many kinds of crafts," he answered.

"Something for my son's eighth birthday," she answered. He pulled out a case and revealed a chess set, she looked at him strangely.

"Not an intellectual I guess," he spoke as he replaced the case. He then unrolled one of the cloth rolls to reveal weapons of all kinds. He picked out a small axe, sword, and hammer. The woman looked at the craftsmanship. It was hardy, and well crafted. The only ornamentation was small set of symbols pressed into the blade near the shaft.

"Do the symbols mean anything?" The woman asked. The man shook his head. "How much for it?"

"None," just wish him a happy birthday.

"I can't just take this for nothing!" she exclaimed.

"Then two silvers," he said. She paid and left. He could have charged much more, but he seemed reluctant to take payment.

"C'mon babe!" He heard someone say. "You know you love me, why deny it?"

"Because I don't Snotlout!" He heard a girl say. "Now leave me be!" the pair walked by and Snotlout stopped.

"Do you have any jewelry?" He asked. The man nodded before rolling up the weapons and unrolling another roll. This was filled with intricate pieces of jewelry. Several had beautifully cut sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. Snotlout pointed to one large necklace that had an intricate dragon circled around a deep blue sapphire. "How much for that one?"

"That one is not for sale," the man answered.

"Why not?" Snotlout asked.

"I will not have it wasted," he answered. "She obviously does not care for you and if you were to give it to her, she would destroy it or get rid of it just to spite you."

"How much?" Snotlout said angrily.

"Not for sale," he answered.

"What's that?" Snotlout asked pointing to another roll. As soon as the man turned, he swiped the necklace.

"Those are good wooden totems," the man said turning back.

"Never mind," Snotlout said. He stood up and began to walk away. He thought he was in the clear until he felt something prod him in the back. He turned to see the man.

"I believe you have something you shouldn't," he said quietly.

"No I don't," Snotlout adamantly refused.

"If you do not give it back, you will lose a finger," the man said quietly.

"Like you know how to fight," Snotlout smirked. Quicker than the eye could see, the man began his attack. He smacked Snotlout with the top of his staff on his head and when the teen brought his hands to his head, he smacked him in the ribs. This was followed by a sweep through his legs and finally the tip of the staff pointing at Snotlout's throat.

"Now, give it back," The man said. Many were watching disappointedly as Snotlout shakily pulled out the stolen necklace. The man grabbed it and turned to leave.

"Who are you?" Snotlout said.

"None of your concern. I am a trader nothing more," he sat back down by his wares. People bought his wares and he made a good amount of money from the sales. He sold so many different things, that everyone had something they wanted to buy from him. From jewelry to weapons, to wooden charms, everyone wanted something. Finally, the man packed up his remaining wares and packed his new earnings into a sack. The villagers watched as the man walked back into the forest.

"Where are you going?" Asked a child.

"Home," he answered.

"But I've never seen you before," the child countered. "Where do you live?"

"No one ever saw me," the man said. "And know one will. I am never found unless I want to be found." The child looked at him strangely. "How old are you?" He asked.

"I'm nine," she said proudly.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Eira," she said.

"Well Eira," he said. "You should know something. Do not come looking for me. You will never find me, and you might get lost." She nodded. He crouched. He pulled out a small necklace. It had a small pitch black carefully polished stone that was encircled by an intricate knot. The stone itself was worthless, but the finished piece was beautiful. "Here. This is for you."

"Why?" She asked.

"For daring to ask questions," he said. With that he stood up and began his walk back into the forest. He did not return for a whole month, but everyone remembered him and sought out his wares.

{}{}{}{}{End}{}{}{}{}

{}{}{}{}{Rise of the Dragon Master}{}{}{}{}

{}{}{}{}{To be Continued}{}{}{}{}

 **A.N. I can't believe it! I finished another chapter! I did two chapters in one day! I never would have thought it possible. This chapter is significantly shorter, because it's more of an epilogue for this story. This story will be continued, but it will be also a higher rating. Probably not T but M. Just to let you know, I don't plan on rushing this. I am hoping to get more of my other story finished, and maybe start another. If you have questions, then review this story, or PM me. I hope you liked this story, and if you didn't, well, sorry. See you next time.**


	9. Message to Readers

**A.N. THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER. This is just going to let you know that the next story that continues after this one is called Return of the Dragon Master. Please continue reading the story with this new addition.**


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